Abstract

In the May Zeg-Zeg catchment in Tigray, north Ethiopia, integrated catchment management has been implemented since 2004 : stone bunds were built in the whole catchment, vegetation was allowed to re-grow on steep slopes and other marginal land, stubble grazing abandoned, and check dams built in gullies. Land-use and management were mapped and analysed for 2000 and 2006, whereby particular attention was given to the quantification of changes in soil loss due to the abandonment of stubble grazing. Sediment yield was also measured at the catchment's outlet. This diachronic comparison of sediment budgets revealed that integrated catchment management is the way to combat land degradation in Tigray and other tropical mountains